pearl harbor, why no usn a/c in the air?

From: Henry J Cobb
Date: 4/9/2004 19:26 Pacific Daylight Time

snip

Applying VP-21's numbers

Which wasn't based at PH in any event ...

we get 51 planes required to do a 360° search
to 450 miles so just 20 planes in the air could have done a search
beyond the strike radius of any Japanese carrier based aircraft.

http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/pha/misc/martin_1.html

The "Martin-Bellinger Report" on aircraft availability

start
PATROL WING TWO
U. S. NAVAL AIR STATION,
Pearl Harbor, T. H.,
December 19, 1941.

Memorandum for Admiral H. E. Kimmel, U. S. Navy.

MY DEAR ADMIRAL: In accordance with our conversation of yesterday, I am
forwarding to you the following information:
....

[i]t should be noted that there were insufficient patrol planes in the Hawaiian
Area effectively to do the Job required. For the commander of a search group to
be able to state with some assurance that no hostile carrier could reach a spot
250 miles away and launch an attack without prior detection would require an
effective daily search through 360 to a distance of at least 800 miles.
Assuming a 16-mile radius of visibility this would require a daily 16 hour
flight of 84 planes. A force of not less than 209 patrol planes, adequate spare
parts and ample well trained personnel would be required for such operations.

(Signed) P. N. L. BELLINGER
Rear Admiral, U. S. Navy,
Commander Patrol Wing TWO.
end

RADM Bellinger appears to not agree.

MW